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#1
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How Bout This
We've moved almost all our Phals into Aliflor. I'm thinking about trying one
in S/H, too. We use spag if we need to root a plant or if mounting. Down at Redland this year, we noticed that the growers are really trending away from bark mixes. There are exceptions, of course, but I saw more Catts in Aliflor/CHC/charcoal mixes than before. Of course, we repot once we get home and the flowers are gone, but IMO the roots on these plants are in much better condition than those of the plants in those mud mixes. Diana |
#2
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How Bout This
Exactly. This is why I am never touching bark and soggy spagh in
mature plants ever again. I'd ask you what Aliflor is, but I'll just Google it. Thanks for the info ! Keep it coming. There's gotta be better alternatives out there, and Im convinced they're the way to go. Diana Kulaga wrote: We've moved almost all our Phals into Aliflor. I'm thinking about trying one in S/H, too. We use spag if we need to root a plant or if mounting. Down at Redland this year, we noticed that the growers are really trending away from bark mixes. There are exceptions, of course, but I saw more Catts in Aliflor/CHC/charcoal mixes than before. Of course, we repot once we get home and the flowers are gone, but IMO the roots on these plants are in much better condition than those of the plants in those mud mixes. Diana |
#3
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How Bout This
Sorry. About the sponge: repotting could turn into a minor nightmare, no?
And, it's not infrequent for me to pick up a sponge next to the sink and smell mildew, no matter how clean I try to keep them. Just sayin'. Diana |
#4
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How Bout This
The sponge can definatly get funky...but at least they're made of
synthetic stuff that won't rot. If its home to mildew, meh...maybe a lil' stinky but that's not too big a deal. I would say that they never come CLOSE to the cornucopia of stuff found in bark and moss. About the repotting : Nightmare to clean all the little sponge chunks from the roots ?? The roots will cling to the sponge chunks ? Yeah...that probably will be ugly...but how would that be different than the aliflor (that I looked up) ? Diana Kulaga wrote: Sorry. About the sponge: repotting could turn into a minor nightmare, no? And, it's not infrequent for me to pick up a sponge next to the sink and smell mildew, no matter how clean I try to keep them. Just sayin'. Diana |
#5
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How Bout This
Well, mildew is fungal, if I'm not mistaken (I could be). You wouldn't want
any kind of fungal substance in that pot, IMHO. And if I'm wrong about that, still, who wants "stinky" around the Phals? Anyway, I agree about bark and moss. I do not use any bark at all, because I have no feel for it and don't like to dig the stuff out when I repot. Spaghnum has its place, especially when trying to rescue something and give it some new roots. As far as the repotting is concerned, Aliflor is a piece of cake, especially with Phals. To be sure, Aliflor can get wrapped up in roots, but considering the way Phal roots grow, it's not much of a deal. It's more of an issue when repotting a Catt or Den that has overgrown its pot, but even then, it's a walk in the park compared to bark. And it doesn't break down, so repotting can be put off for a much longer period of time than with bark or moss. Having said all that, one of the safest ways I've found to grow Phals is in a slat basket, hung tipped so that the plant cannot retain water in the crown, and in that case I use spaghnum moss. It dries out quickly in my environment and the plants which I grow that way love it. One of the big problems with moss is using it in plastic pots. The **** stuff never dries out that way. I have a huge Phal in clay and spag right now, and it dries rather quickly. Still, when it's finished blooming, into Aliflor it goes. Anyway, there are as many media for orchids as there are orchid fanatics like us. Never hurts to try something new! Diana |
#6
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How Bout This
On Wed, 7 Jun 2006 17:39:44 -0400, "Diana Kulaga"
wrote: I have a huge Phal in clay and spag right now, and it dries rather quickly. Still, when it's finished blooming, into Aliflor it goes. Anyway, there are as many media for orchids as there are orchid fanatics like us. Never hurts to try something new! Diana Repotting in Aliflor is easy. Pick the plant up. Check for dead, decay, mushy roots -- none found = Stick it in a pot and pour fresh aliflor in to fill it up. OH some stuck to the roots - no worry. The stuff is not rotting. IF you flush your pots well it is not full of chemicals or salts... it belongs to this plant just as if the plant were growing in the wild. Less disturbance of roots. My only problem has been with the summer cym breaking pots because the root ball became too large and too strong. Cym Golden Elf has broken out 3 times. They push up in the pot about 1-1.5 inches then they just split the plastic pots. Now when one is sitting a bit high I look for a split starting. Can not adequate water S/H if the pot is split. G SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/main.php |
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